Determination of position, velocity and/or heading by simultaneous use of on-device and on-vehicle information

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatus and methods to supplement, combine, replace, verify and calibrate in-vehicle and in-device sensors and GNSS systems are presented. A mobile device and a vehicle navigation system share sensor and GNSS information to arrive at an improved navigation solution. For example, a navigation solution computed by a vehicle may rely on a sensor signal from a mobile device. Similarly, a navigation solution computed by a mobile device may use a sensor signal or a GNSS signal from a vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/799,560, filed Mar. 15,2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/734,326, filed Dec. 6,2012, both of which are entitled “Method for improved determination ofposition, velocity and/or heading by simultaneous use of on-device andon-vehicle information,” and both of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

I. Field of the Invention

This disclosure relates generally to systems, apparatus and methods forin-vehicle navigation, and more particularly to integrating a navigationsystem of a mobile device with sensors of a navigation system of avehicle.

II. Background

Mobile users often want to use navigation to find various places whileon-board a vehicle. When navigating in area challenged to receive globalposition satellite (GPS) signals or other global navigation satellitesystem (GNSS) signals, such as in urban areas, both assistance data andon-device inertial sensors are used to supplement or in place of GNSSsignals alone. Often a mobile device computes one navigation solutionwith its sensors and a vehicle will compute a separate solution with itssensors, which may include on-vehicle inertial and/or odometer sensors.What is needed is a way to unify and coordinate sensors of both themobile device and the vehicle to provide a single navigation solutionwith information from the combined mobile device and vehicle sensors.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Disclosed are systems, apparatus and methods to combine in-vehicle andin-device sensors to compute an improved navigation solution.

According to some aspects, disclosed is a method to improve a navigationsolution, the method comprising: communicatively coupling a firstnavigation system to a second navigation system; receiving, at the firstnavigation system, a signal from the second navigation system, whereinthe signal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; and determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system based on the signalfrom the second navigation system.

According to some aspects, disclosed is a first navigation system forimproving a navigation solution, the first navigation system comprising:an interface to a second navigation system and configured to receive asignal from the second navigation system, wherein the signal from thesecond navigation system comprises at least one of a sensor signal or aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; a processor coupled tothe interface and conferred to determine the navigation solution basedon the signal from the second navigation system.

According to some aspects, disclosed is a first navigation system forimproving navigation information, the first navigation systemcomprising: means for communicatively coupling the first navigationsystem to a second navigation system; means for receiving, at the firstnavigation system, a signal from the second navigation system, whereinthe signal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; and means for determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system based on the signalfrom the second navigation system.

According to some aspects, disclosed is a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereonfor a first navigation system to improve a navigation solution,comprising program code to: communicatively couple a first navigationsystem to a second navigation system; receive, at the first navigationsystem, a signal from the second navigation system, wherein the signalcomprises at least one of a sensor signal or a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) signal; and determine the navigation solution atthe first navigation system based on the signal from the secondnavigation system.

It is understood that other aspects will become readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following detailed description,wherein it is shown and described various aspects by way ofillustration. The drawings and detailed description are to be regardedas illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only,with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a divide between navigation systems of a mobiledevice and a vehicle.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate communicatively coupling a navigation system ofa mobile device and a navigation system of a vehicle, in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a vehicle navigation system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a mobile device with a navigation system, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a method 300 and system to combine in-vehicle andin-device sensors to compute an improved navigation solution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various aspects of the presentdisclosure and is not intended to represent the only aspects in whichthe present disclosure may be practiced. Each aspect described in thisdisclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration of thepresent disclosure, and should not necessarily be construed as preferredor advantageous over other aspects. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devicesare shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the conceptsof the present disclosure. Acronyms and other descriptive terminologymay be used merely for convenience and clarity and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure.

Position determination techniques described herein may be implemented inconjunction with various wireless communication networks such as awireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN),a wireless personal area network (WPAN), and so on. The term “network”and “system” are often used interchangeably. A WWAN may be a CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, anOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, aSingle-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network,Long Term Evolution (LTE), and so on. A CDMA network may implement oneor more radio access technologies (RATs) such as cdma2000, Wideband-CDMA(W-CDMA), and so on. Cdma2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and IS-856standards. A TDMA network may implement Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), orsome other RAT. GSM and W-CDMA are described in documents from aconsortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). Cdma2000is described in documents from a consortium named “3rd GenerationPartnership Project 2” (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publiclyavailable. A WLAN may be an IEEE 802.11× network, and a WPAN may be aBluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15×, or some other type of network. Thetechniques may also be implemented in conjunction with any combinationof WWAN, WLAN and/or WPAN.

A satellite positioning system (SPS) typically includes a system oftransmitters positioned to enable entities to determine their locationon or above the Earth based, at least in part, on signals received fromthe transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal markedwith a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chipsand may be located on ground based control stations, user equipmentand/or space vehicles. In a particular example, such transmitters may belocated on Earth orbiting satellite vehicles (SVs). For example, a SV ina constellation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such asGlobal Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS or Compass maytransmit a signal marked with a PN code that is distinguishable from PNcodes transmitted by other SVs in the constellation (e.g., usingdifferent PN codes for each satellite as in GPS or using the same codeon different frequencies as in GLONASS). In accordance with certainaspects, the techniques presented herein are not restricted to globalsystems (e.g., GNSS) for SPS. For example, the techniques providedherein may be applied to or otherwise enabled for use in variousregional systems, such as, e.g., Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)over Japan, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) overIndia, Beidou over China, etc., and/or various augmentation systems(e.g., an Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS)) that may beassociated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more globaland/or regional navigation satellite systems. By way of example but notlimitation, an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that providesintegrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as, e.g.,Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary NavigationOverlay Service (EGNOS), Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System(MSAS), GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo AugmentedNavigation system (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein an SPSmay include any combination of one or more global and/or regionalnavigation satellite systems and/or augmentation systems, and SPSsignals may include SPS, SPS-like, and/or other signals associated withsuch one or more SPS.

As used herein, a mobile device, sometimes referred to as a mobilestation (MS) or user equipment (UE), such as a cellular phone, mobilephone or other wireless communication device, personal communicationsystem (PCS) device, personal navigation device (PND), PersonalInformation Manager (PIM), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), laptop orother suitable mobile device which is capable of receiving wirelesscommunication and/or navigation signals. The term “mobile device” isalso intended to include devices which communicate with a personalnavigation device (PND), such as by short-range wireless, infrared,wireline connection, or other connection—regardless of whether satellitesignal reception, assistance data reception, and/or position-relatedprocessing occurs at the device or at the PND. Also, “mobile device” isintended to include all devices, including wireless communicationdevices, computers, laptops, etc. which are capable of communicationwith a server, such as via the Internet, WiFi, or other network, andregardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance datareception, and/or position-related processing occurs at the device, at aserver, or at another device associated with the network. Any operablecombination of the above are also considered a “mobile device.”

FIG. 1 illustrates a divide between navigation systems of a mobiledevice 100 and a vehicle navigation system 200. The navigation systemsof the mobile device 100 and the vehicle navigation system 200 arenaturally separate systems. Existing navigation solutions use GNSS andsensor information from within the navigation system.

The mobile device 100 has a navigation system that has severalcomponents duplicated by the vehicle navigation system 200. The mobiledevice 100 includes one or more sensors 110, such as a 3-dimensional(3-D) accelerometer and/or a 3-D gyroscope (also referred to as a 3-Dgyrometer). The sensors 110 may also include a compass providing adirection to magnetic north, a pressure sensor used to determinealtitude, and the like. The mobile device 100 also includes a GNSS unit120 and a processor 130. The vehicle navigation system 200 also includesone or more sensors 210, a GNSS unit 220 and a processor 230. Thesensors 210 in the vehicle may include a 3-D accelerometer providing anaccelerometer value, a 3-D gyroscope providing a gyroscope value, aturn-rate sensor providing a turn-rate value, an odometer providing anodometer value, a speedometer providing a speed value, and the like.

Each navigation system computes a separate navigation solution withoutthe benefit of the duplicate and/or additional sensors of thecorresponding system. That is, the mobile device 100 does not usesensors 210 or GNSS unit 220 of the vehicle navigation system 200.Similarly, the vehicle navigation system 200 does not use sensors 110 orGNSS unit 220 of the mobile device 100.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate communicatively coupling a navigation system ofa mobile device 100 and a vehicle navigation system 200, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention. The mobile device 100may receive vehicle information from the sensors 210 and GNSS unit 220of the vehicle navigation system 200. Similarly, the vehicle navigationsystem 200 may receive mobile device information from the sensors 110and GNSS unit 120 of the mobile device 100.

A navigation system using a Kalman filter may now have additional inputsfrom the sensor signals of the other navigation system, therebyresulting in an improved navigation solution. For example, a mobiledevice 100 may have a Kalman filter with inputs based on signals fromeach of its own sensors. Now, the Kalman filter may have additionalinputs for signals base on sensors of the vehicle navigation system 200.

A navigation system of one device may be used to replace, combine,supplement, verify and/or calibrate sensor measurements and/or GNSS froma second navigation system.

A navigation system may have a lower quality or lower resolution sensorbut can replace sensor with a higher quality or higher resolution sensorfrom the other navigation system. For example, a mobile device 100 mayhave a GNSS receiver of its own but the GNSS receiver of the vehiclereceives a signal of higher quality (e.g., by an outdoor antenna mountedon the vehicle). Similarly, a mobile device 100 may have an inexpensiveaccelerometer offering a low resolution signal but the vehiclenavigation system 200 may have a more expensive higher resolutionsignal. A heading detector on the vehicle navigation system 200 may beprovided to the mobile device 100. A vehicle navigation system 200 mayonly have a 2-D gyroscope so uses signals from a 3-D gyroscope 112 onthe mobile device 100.

A navigation system may be combined the same type of sensors and/or GNSSsignals from two different navigation systems. For example, vehiclenavigation system 200 may be receiving signals from a first satelliteand a mobile device 100 may be receiving signals from a secondsatellite. Either navigation system may be insufficient alone to computean adequate navigation solution. Therefore, one system may provide GNSSsignals to the other system.

A navigation system may be missing a particular type of sensor maysupplement its sensors with sensors from another navigation system. Forexample, signals from a barometer (used to determine altitude and changein altitude) in a mobile device 100 may be provided to a vehiclenavigation system 200. Signals from a turn-rate detector or aspeedometer in a vehicle navigation system 200 may be provided to amobile device 100 not having direct access to such information. Avehicle navigation system 200 may not have a gyroscope but uses signalsfrom a gyroscope 112 on the mobile device 100.

Sensor signals of one navigation system may be used to verify orcalibrate sensor signals of another navigation system. For example, amobile device 100 may verify that a sensor 110 providing measurements iswithin a tolerance threshold away from a sensor 210 on the vehiclenavigation system 200. A speedometer in a vehicle navigation system 200may be provided to a mobile device 100 to calibrate an accelerometer ofthe mobile device 100.

In FIG. 2, the mobile device 100 and the vehicle navigation system 200are communicatively coupled to exchange vehicle information and/ormobile device information. The mobile device 100 and the vehiclenavigation system 200 may be wirelessly coupled, for example, via aBluetooth interface, or connected by wire, for example, via a mount. Themobile device 100 may detect when the devices are no longercommunicatively coupled and then fall back to determining a navigationsolution without sensors 210 and the GNSS unit 220 of the vehiclenavigation system 200. The vehicle information is sent from the vehiclenavigation system 200 to the mobile device 100 and may include vehiclesensor information from the vehicle sensors 210 and/or GNSS informationfrom the GNSS unit 220. The mobile device information similarly mayinclude mobile device sensor information from sensors 110 and/or mobiledevice GNSS information from the GNSS unit 120, and is sent from themobile device 100 to the vehicle navigation system 200. Methodsdescribed below may use sensor signals from either or both the mobiledevice 100 and the vehicle navigation system 200. The method may beperformed in the mobile device 100 or in the vehicle navigation system200.

In FIG. 3, an embodiment is shown where the mobile device 100 by passesprocessor 230 of the vehicle navigation system 200. In effect, theprocessor 130 now has additional sensors 210 and/or additional GNSS unit220 to replace, combine, supplement and/or verify sensors 110 and theGNSS unit 120. The processor 130 of the mobile device 100 directlycommunicates with the sensors 210 and the GNSS unit 220 of the vehiclenavigation system 200 to acquire vehicle GNSS information and vehiclesensor information, respectfully. In this embodiment, the mobile device100 acts as the master and the vehicle navigation system 200 acts as theslave. Often, the GNSS signals from GNSS unit 120 are inadequate andignored. During the interim when GNSS signals are inadequate, navigationis provided by a dead-reckoning algorithm with the sensor signals.

In an alternative embodiment, the vehicle navigation system 200 acts asthe master and the mobile device 100 acts as the slave. The processor230 of the vehicle navigation system 200 receives mobile device sensorinformation from the sensors 110 and mobile device GNSS information fromthe GNSS unit 120 both in the mobile device.

FIG. 4 shows a vehicle navigation system, in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention. The vehicle navigation system 200includes sensors 210, a GNSS unit 220, a processor 230 and an interface240 to the mobile device 100. The sensors 210 include one or more of anaccelerometer 211, a gyroscope 212, a turn-rate sensor 213, an odometer214, a speedometer 215, a compass, and the like. The accelerometer 211measures acceleration in one, two or three perpendicular dimensions. Thegyroscope 212 measures angular acceleration in one, two or threeperpendicular dimensions. The turn-rate sensor 213 measures the turningrate of the steering wheel and/or the turning rate of the vehicle. Theodometer 214 measures the travel distance of the vehicle. Thespeedometer 215 measures a current speed of the vehicle. The sensors 210may also include a compass or magnetometer, which measures an angle tomagnetic north. Other sensors useful for the navigation process may alsobe included in the vehicle navigation system 200.

The GNSS unit 220 includes a GNSS receiver, such as a GPS receiver, anda GNSS antenna. The processor 230 executes software modules necessary tocompute a navigation solution. The interface 240 to the mobile device100 couples the processor 230 to the sensors 110 and/or the GNSS unit120 of the mobile device 100. Alternatively, or in addition to, theinterface 240 couples the processor 230 of the vehicle navigation system200 to the processor 130 of the mobile device 100.

FIG. 5 shows a mobile device with a navigation system, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention. The mobile device 100includes sensors 110, a GNSS unit 120, a processor 130 and an interface140 to vehicle navigation system 200. The sensors 110 include one ormore of an accelerometer 111 and a gyroscope 112, described above withreference to the vehicle navigation system 200. Other sensors useful forthe navigation process may also be included in the mobile device 100.The GNSS unit 120 includes a GNSS receiver, such as a GPS receiver, anda GNSS antenna.

Often the GNSS antenna of the vehicle navigation system 200 ispositioned in a more advantageous location than the GNSS antenna of themobile device 100. The processor 130 executes software modules 150necessary to compute a navigation solution. The modules 150 may includea dead-reckoning module 151 executing a dead-reckoning algorithm, amount-state detection module 152, a sensor comparison module 153, asensor integration module 154, and the like. The dead-reckoning module151 computes the position, velocity and/or heading from the sensorinformation from sensors 110 and sensors 210. The mount-state detectionmodule 152 determines whether or not the mobile device 100 is in amounted state in the vehicle.

The sensor comparison module 153 receives sensor signal from sensors 110in the mobile device 100 and sensor signals from sensors 210 in thevehicle navigation system 200 and determines which is currently better.That is, a processor 130 determines a better sensor signal and a worsesensor signal from between the sensor signal from the sensors 110 in themobile device 100 and the sensor signal from the sensors 210 in thevehicle navigation system 200. The processor 130 may use the bettersensor signal and discards the worse sensor signal in determining thenavigation information. Alternatively, the processor 130 may integratethe sensor signals from both sensors 110 and sensors 210 with sensorintegration module 154, and then compute the navigation information. Thesensor integration module 154 integrates the sensor signals from sensors110 in the mobile device 100 and sensor signals from the vehiclenavigation system 200 into a continuous stream of sensor signals for thedead-reckoning module 151.

The interface 140 to the vehicle navigation system 200 couples theprocessor 130 to the sensors 210 and/or the GNSS unit 220 of the vehiclenavigation system 200. Alternatively, or in addition to, the interface140 couples the processor 130 of the mobile device 100 to the processor230 of the vehicle navigation system 200. The processor 130 is alsocoupled to a display 160, for example, to display the computednavigation information, including the computed position, velocity andheading.

The processor 230 may have modules similar to modules 150, thus allowingthe vehicle navigation system 200 to use sensors 110 and GNSS unit 120in the mobile device 100 to compute a navigation solution.

The sensor signals from the sensors 210 of the vehicle navigation system200 may be used to calibrate the sensors 110 in the mobile device.Similarly, the sensor signals from the sensors 110 in the mobile devicemay be used to calibrate the sensors 210 of the vehicle navigationsystem 200. For example, the vehicle sensor 210 may tell the sensors 110in the mobile device when the vehicle is at rest, traveling at aconstant speed (without linear or angular accelerations). The mobiledevice 100 may then calibrate its accelerometer 111 and gyroscope 112.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a method 300 and system to combine in-vehicle andin-device sensors to compute an improved navigation solution.

In FIG. 6 at 310, a first navigation system 410 communicatively couplesto a second navigation system 420. The first navigation system 410 maybe a vehicle navigation system 200 and the second navigation system 420may be a navigation system of a mobile device 100. Alternatively, thefirst navigation system 410 may be a navigation system of a mobiledevice 100 and the second navigation system 420 may be a vehiclenavigation system 200.

At 320, an interface 412 receives, at the first navigation system 410, asignal from the second navigation system 420. The signal may be a sensorsignal from a sensor 424 in the second navigation system 420. The sensorsignal may be a turn-rate value from a turn-rate sensor, a speedometervalue from a speedometer, an accelerometer value from an accelerometer,a gyroscope value from a gyroscope, a pressure value from a barometricsensor, and/or the like.

Alternatively or in addition to, the signal may be a GNSS signal (e.g.,a GPS signal) from a GNSS receiver 426 in the second navigation system420. A processor 418 in the first navigation system 410 may determinethe GNSS signal from a GNSS receiver 416 in the first navigation system410 is inadequate or insufficient because not enough satellites arereceived and/or the signal quality is not high enough to properly decodea satellite and/or any to an excessive amount of multipath exists.

At 330, the processor 418 determines the navigation solution at thefirst navigation system 410 based on the signal from the secondnavigation system 420. The navigation solution may be a position,velocity, heading, and/or the like. The processor 418 may also receive asensor signal from a sensor 414 in the first navigation system 410,select between the sensor signal from the first navigation system 410and the signal from the second navigation system 420 based on a desiredcharacteristic resulting in a signal with the desired characteristic,and determine the navigation solution at the first navigation system 410based on the signal with the desired characteristic. The desiredcharacteristic may be an SINR, an SNR, a number of satellite signalsreceived, a single-path satellite signal, lower uncertainty and/or thelike. The desired characteristic may be set or configured by a user. Theprocessor 418 may select a better, stronger or larger signal frombetween sensor signal and/or the GNSS signal from the first navigationsystem 410 and the signal from the second navigation system 420. Insteadof selecting between the signals from the two navigation systems (410,420), the processor 418 may use both signals from both navigationsystems (410, 420) to compute the navigation solution. For example, agyroscope in a mobile device may be used with an accelerometer in avehicle for applying a dead-reckoning algorithm.

In some embodiments, a mount state detector determines a mobile deviceand a vehicle or communicatively couple, for example, via a wiredconnection and/or in a mounted state. Alternatively, a wireless detectormay detect a wireless connection, for example, using Bluetooth, betweena mobile device and a vehicle. The mount state detector or wirelessdetector may determine when the two devices are no longercommunicatively coupled or in an un-mounted state.

In some embodiments, signals from a first navigation system 410 are usedto calibrate sensors 424 in the second navigation system 420. Forexample, a signal from a speedometer of a vehicle may be used tocalibrate an accelerometer or a gyroscope of a mobile device. Similarly,a sensor in the first navigation system 410 may be calibrated with asignal from the second navigation system 420.

In FIG. 7, a first navigation system 410 is communicatively coupled to asecond navigation system 420. The systems may be communicatively coupledby a wired connection (e.g., via a mount) or wireless connection (e.g.,via Bluetooth). The first navigation system 410 includes an interface412 and a processor 418. The processor 418 acts as a means forperforming the methods described herein. Optionally, the firstnavigation system 410 includes a sensor 414 and/or a GNSS receiver 416.The second navigation system 420 includes an interface 422 and at leastone of a sensor 424 and a GNSS receiver 426. The second navigationsystem 420 optionally includes a processor 428.

Some embodiments provide for a method to improve a navigation solution.The method comprises: (1) communicatively coupling a first navigationsystem to a second navigation system; (2) receiving, at the firstnavigation system, a signal from the second navigation system, whereinthe signal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; and (3) determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system based on the signalfrom the second navigation system. The first navigation system maycomprise a vehicle navigation system and the second navigation systemmay comprise a navigation system of a mobile device, or the firstnavigation system may comprise a navigation system of a mobile deviceand the second navigation system may comprise a vehicle navigationsystem. The signal from the second navigation system may comprise thesensor signal from a sensor in the second navigation system. The sensorsignal may comprise a turn-rate value, a speedometer value, anaccelerometer value or a gyroscope value. The signal may comprise theGNSS signal, for example when the GNSS signals at the first navigationsystem are insufficient. The navigation solution comprises a position, avelocity and/or a heading. Determining the navigation solution maycomprise: (1) receiving a sensor signal from a sensor in the firstnavigation system; (2) selecting between the sensor signal from thefirst navigation system and the signal from the second navigation systembased on a desired characteristic resulting is a signal with the desiredcharacteristic; and (3) determining the navigation solution at the firstnavigation system based on the signal with the desired characteristic;wherein the signal from the second navigation system comprises thesensor signal from a sensor in the second navigation system. Determiningthe navigation solution may comprise: (1) receiving a sensor signal froma sensor in the first navigation system; and (2) determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system using both the sensorsignal from the first navigation system and the signal from the secondnavigation system; wherein the signal from the second navigation systemcomprises the sensor signal from a sensor in the second navigationsystem. Determining the navigation solution may comprise: (1) receivinga GNSS signal from a GNSS receiver in the first navigation system; (2)selecting between the GNSS signal from the first navigation system andthe signal from the second navigation system based on a desiredcharacteristic resulting is a signal with the desired characteristic;and (3) determining the navigation solution at the first navigationsystem based on the signal with the desired characteristic; wherein thesignal from the second navigation system comprises the GNSS signal froma GNSS receiver in the second navigation system. Determining thenavigation solution may comprise: (1) receiving a GNSS signal from aGNSS receiver in the first navigation system; and (2) determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system using both the GNSSsignal from the first navigation system and the signal from the secondnavigation system; wherein the signal from the second navigation systemcomprises the GNSS signal from a GNSS receiver in the second navigationsystem. Determining the navigation solution may comprise using adead-reckoning algorithm. The method may further comprise determiningthat the first navigation system and second navigation systems arecommunicatively coupled or are no longer communicatively coupled. Themethod may further comprise determining one of the first navigationsystem and the second navigation system is in a mounted state. Themethod may further comprises calibrating a sensor in the firstnavigation system with the signal from the second navigation system. Themethod may further comprise sending a sensor signal from the firstnavigation system to calibrate a sensor in the second navigation system.

Some embodiments provide for a first navigation system for improving anavigation solution. The first navigation system comprises: (1) aninterface to a second navigation system and configured to receive asignal from the second navigation system, wherein the signal from thesecond navigation system comprises at least one of a sensor signal or aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; and (2) a processorcoupled to the interface and conferred to determine the navigationsolution based on the signal from the second navigation system. Thefirst navigation system may comprise a vehicle navigation system and thesecond navigation system may comprise a navigation system of a mobiledevice, or the first navigation system may comprise a navigation systemof a mobile device and the second navigation system may comprise avehicle navigation system. The interface may comprise a Bluetoothinterface. The signal from the second navigation system may comprise thesensor signal from a sensor in the second navigation system or the GNSSsignal from a GNSS receiver in the second navigation system. The firstnavigation system may further comprise: a sensor configured to provide asensor signal; wherein the processor is further configured to: (1)select between the sensor signal and the signal from the secondnavigation system based on a desired characteristic resulting in asignal with the desired characteristic; and (2) wherein the processorconfigured to determine the navigation solution is configured todetermine the navigation solution based on the signal with the desiredcharacteristic. The first navigation system may further comprise: asensor configured to provide a sensor signal; wherein the processorconfigured to determine the navigation solution is configured todetermine the navigation solution using both the sensor signal and thesignal from the second navigation system. The first navigation systemmay further comprise a mount. The first navigation system may furthercomprise: a sensor configured to provide a sensor signal; wherein theprocessor is further configured to calibrate the sensor based on thesignal from the second navigation system. The first navigation systemmay further comprise: a sensor configured to provide a sensor signal;wherein the interface is further configured to send the sensor signal tothe second navigation system for calibrating a sensor in the secondnavigation system.

Some embodiments provide for a first navigation system for improving anavigation solution. The first navigation system comprises: (1) meansfor communicatively coupling the first navigation system to a secondnavigation system; (2) means for receiving, at the first navigationsystem, a signal from the second navigation system, wherein the signalcomprises at least one of a sensor signal or a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) signal; and (3) means for determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system based on the signalfrom the second navigation system. The first navigation system maycomprise a vehicle navigation system and the second navigation systemmay comprise a navigation system of a mobile device, or the firstnavigation system may comprise a navigation system of a mobile deviceand the second navigation system may comprise a vehicle navigationsystem. The signal from the second navigation system may comprise thesensor signal from the second navigation system. The signal from thesecond navigation system may comprise the GNSS signal from a GNSSreceiver in the second navigation system. The means for determining thenavigation solution may comprise: (1) means for receiving the sensorsignal in the first navigation system; (2) means for selecting betweenthe sensor signal from the first navigation system and the signal fromthe second navigation system based on a desired characteristic resultingin a signal with the desired characteristic; and (3) means fordetermining the navigation solution at the first navigation system basedon the signal with the desired characteristic. The means for determiningthe navigation solution may comprise: (1) means for receiving the sensorsignal in the first navigation system; and (2) means for determining thenavigation solution at the first navigation system using both the sensorsignal from the first navigation system and the signal from the secondnavigation system. The first navigation system may further comprisemeans for calibrating a sensor in the first navigation system with thesignal from the second navigation system. The first navigation systemmay further comprise means for sending a sensor signal from the firstnavigation system to calibrate a sensor in the second navigation system.

Some embodiments provide for a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium including program code stored thereon for a first navigationsystem to improve a navigation solution. The program code: (1)communicatively couples the first navigation system to a secondnavigation system; (2) receives, at the first navigation system, asignal from the second navigation system, wherein the signal comprisesat least one of a sensor signal or a global navigation satellite system(GNSS) signal; and (3) determines the navigation solution at the firstnavigation system based on the signal from the second navigation system.The code to determine the navigation solution may comprise code to: (1)receive the sensor signal from a sensor in the first navigation system;(2) select between the sensor signal from the first navigation systemand the signal from the second navigation system based on a desiredcharacteristic resulting is a signal with the desired characteristic;and (3) determine the navigation solution at the first navigation systembased on the signal with the desired characteristic. The code todetermine the navigation solution may comprise code to: (1) receive thesensor signal from a sensor in the first navigation system; and (2)determine the navigation solution at the first navigation system usingboth the sensor signal from the first navigation system and the signalfrom the second navigation system.

The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various meansdepending upon the application. For example, these methodologies may beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.For a hardware implementation, the processing units may be implementedwithin one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices(DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory and executed by a processor unit. Memory may beimplemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit.As used herein the term “memory” refers to any type of long term, shortterm, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is not to be limited toany particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of mediaupon which memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be storedas one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structureand computer-readable media encoded with a computer program.Computer-readable media includes physical computer storage media. Astorage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to store desired program code in the formof instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by acomputer; disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD),laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk andblu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, whilediscs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to storage on computer readable medium, instructions and/ordata may be provided as signals on transmission media included in acommunication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus mayinclude a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions anddata. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or moreprocessors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is,the communication apparatus includes transmission media with signalsindicative of information to perform disclosed functions. At a firsttime, the transmission media included in the communication apparatus mayinclude a first portion of the information to perform the disclosedfunctions, while at a second time the transmission media included in thecommunication apparatus may include a second portion of the informationto perform the disclosed functions.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure.Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to improve a navigation solution, themethod comprising: communicatively coupling a first navigation system toa second navigation system, wherein the first navigation system iscoupled to the second navigation system to: receive a signal from thesecond navigation system; receiving, at the first navigation system, thesignal from the second navigation system, wherein the signal comprisesat least one of a sensor signal or a global navigation satellite system(GNASS ) signal; receiving, at the first navigation system, a firstsensor signal from a sensor in the first navigation system; comparing,at the first navigation system, quality or type of the signal from thesecond navigation system and the first sensor signal from the firstnavigation system, including comparing a first sensor location withrespect to the first navigation system the first sensor signal isobtained to a second sensor location with respect to the secondnavigation system the signal is obtained; and setting the navigationsolution at the first navigation system based on a comparison of thesignal from the second navigation system, wherein either the firstsensor signal from the sensor in the first navigation system or thesignal from the second navigation system is insufficient to determinethe navigation solution, and wherein setting the navigation solution atthe first navigation system comprises determining the navigationsolution by integrating the signal from the second navigation systemwith the first sensor signal from the sensor in the first navigationsystem.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first navigation systemcomprises a vehicle navigation system and the second navigation systemcomprises a navigation system of a mobile device.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the first navigation system comprises a navigation system ofa mobile device and the second navigation system comprises a vehiclenavigation system.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal from thesecond navigation system comprises a sensor signal from a sensor in thesecond navigation system.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the sensorsignal comprises at least one of: a turn-rate value; a speedometervalue; an accelerometer value; a gyroscope value; or some combinationthereof.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the navigationsolution comprises: selecting between the first sensor signal from thefirst navigation system and the signal from the second navigation systembased on a desired characteristic resulting is a signal with the desiredcharacteristic; and determining the navigation solution at the firstnavigation system based on the signal with the desired characteristic;wherein the signal from the second navigation system comprises thesensor signal from a sensor in the second navigation system.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining one of the firstnavigation system and the second navigation system is in a mountedstate.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising calibrating a sensorin the first navigation system with the signal from the secondnavigation system.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising sendingthe first sensor signal from the first navigation system to calibrate asensor in the second navigation system.
 10. A first navigation systemfor improving a navigation solution, the first navigation systemcomprising: an interface to a second navigation system and configuredto: receive a signal from the second navigation system, wherein thesignal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) signal; and a processor coupled to the interfaceand configured to: receive, at the first navigation system, a firstsensor signal from a sensor in the first navigation system; compare, atthe first navigation system, characteristics of the signal from thesecond navigation system and the first sensor signal from the firstnavigation system, including compare a first sensor location withrespect to the first navigation system the first sensor signal isobtained to a second sensor location with respect to the secondnavigation system the signal is obtained; and set the navigationsolution based on a comparison of the signal from the second navigationsystem, wherein either the first sensor signal from the sensor in thefirst navigation system or the signal from the second navigation systemis insufficient to determine the navigation solution, and wherein setthe navigation solution at the first navigation system comprisesdetermine the navigation solution by integrating the signal from thesecond navigation system with the first sensor signal from the sensor inthe first navigation system.
 11. The first navigation system of claim10, wherein the first navigation system comprises a vehicle navigationsystem and the second navigation system comprises a navigation system ofa mobile device.
 12. The first navigation system of claim 10, whereinthe first navigation system comprises a navigation system of a mobiledevice and the second navigation system comprises a vehicle navigationsystem.
 13. The first navigation system of claim 10, wherein theinterface comprises a Bluetooth interface.
 14. The first navigationsystem of claim 10, wherein the signal from the second navigation systemcomprises the sensor signal from a sensor in the second navigationsystem.
 15. The first navigation system of claim 10, wherein the signalfrom the second navigation system comprises the GNSS signal from a GNSSreceiver in the second navigation system.
 16. The first navigationsystem of claim 10, further comprising: a sensor configured to provide asensor signal; wherein the processor is further configured to calibratethe sensor based on the signal from the second navigation system. 17.The first navigation system, of claim 10, further comprising: a sensorconfigured to provide a sensor signal; wherein the second signalcomprises the sensor signal, and wherein the sensor signal is forcalibrating a sensor in the second navigation system.
 18. A firstnavigation system for improving a navigation solution, the firstnavigation system comprising: means for communicatively coupling thefirst navigation system to a second navigation system, wherein the firstnavigation system is coupled to the second navigation system to: receivea signal from the second navigation system; means for receiving, at thefirst navigation system, the signal from the second navigation system,wherein the signal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; means for receiving, at thefirst navigation system, a first sensor signal from a sensor in thefirst navigation system; means for comparing, at the first navigationsystem, characteristics of the signal from the second navigation systemand the first sensor signal from the first navigation system, includingmeans for comparing a first sensor location with respect to the firstnavigation system the first sensor signal is obtained to a second sensorlocation with respect to the second navigation system the signal isobtained, wherein a GNSS antenna location of the first navigation systemis compared to the a GNSS antenna location of the second navigationsystem; and means for setting the navigation solution at the firstnavigation system based on a comparison of the signal from the secondnavigation system, wherein either the first sensor signal from thesensor in the first navigation system or the signal from the secondnavigation system is insufficient to determine the navigation solution,and wherein the means for setting the navigation solution at the firstnavigation system comprises means for determining the navigationsolution by integrating the signal from the second navigation systemwith the first sensor signal from the sensor in the first navigationsystem.
 19. The first navigation system of claim 18, wherein the firstnavigation system comprises a vehicle navigation system and the secondnavigation system comprises a navigation system of a mobile device. 20.The first navigation system of claim 18, wherein the first navigationsystem comprises a navigation system of a mobile device and the secondnavigation system comprises a vehicle navigation system.
 21. The firstnavigation system of claim 18, wherein the signal from the secondnavigation system comprises the sensor signal from the second navigationsystem.
 22. The first navigation system of claim 18, wherein the signalfrom the second navigation system comprises the GNSS signal from a GNSSreceiver in the second navigation system.
 23. The first navigationsystem of claim 18, further comprising means for calibrating a sensor inthe first navigation system with the signal from the second navigationsystem.
 24. The first navigation system of claim 18, further comprisingmeans for sending the first sensor signal from the first navigationsystem to calibrate a sensor in the second navigation system.
 25. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program codestored thereon for a first navigation system to improve a navigationsolution, comprising program code to: communicatively couple the firstnavigation system to a second navigation system wherein the firstnavigation system is coupled to the second navigation system to: receivea signal from the second navigation system; receive, at the firstnavigation system, the signal from the second navigation system, whereinthe signal comprises at least one of a sensor signal or a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) signal; receive, at the firstnavigation system, a first sensor signal from a sensor in the firstnavigation system; compare, at the first navigation system,characteristics of the signal from the second navigation system and thefirst sensor signal from the first navigation system, including comparea first sensor location with respect to the first navigation system thefirst sensor signal is obtained to a second sensor location with respectto the second navigation system the signal is obtained; and set thenavigation solution at the first navigation system based on a comparisonof the signal from the second navigation system, wherein either thefirst sensor signal from the sensor in the first navigation system orthe signal from the second navigation system is insufficient todetermine the navigation solution, and wherein set the navigationsolution at the first navigation system comprises determine thenavigation solution by integrating the signal from the second navigationsystem with the first sensor signal from the sensor in the firstnavigation system.
 26. The method of claim 1, wherein setting thenavigation solution at the first navigation system further comprises:using a Kalman filter to integrate the signal from the second navigationsystem with the first sensor signal from the sensor in the firstnavigation system into a continuous stream of sensor signals; anddetermining the navigation solution using the continuous stream ofsensor signals.
 27. The method of claim 1, wherein setting thenavigation solution at the first navigation system further comprises:comparing the signal from the second navigation system to the firstsensor signal from the sensor in the first navigation system; selectinga set of signals from both the second navigation system and the firstsensor signal from the sensor in the first navigation system; anddetermining the navigation solution using the set of signals selected.